


What Skulks Among the Reeds

by acrocantha



Series: INUJIMA [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Blood and Violence, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Short, Worldbuilding, Writing Exercise, original clan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28303575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acrocantha/pseuds/acrocantha
Summary: It's too peaceful. When the dog starts baying as they approach the treeline, it grates on his already high-strung nerves. "And now that thing won't shut up. I'm gonna kill-""Knock it off, it's just a dog. Keep moving."And then it's not. As soon as they step under the shade of the trees, it shifts and a kunoichi, all teeth and sinew, lunges forward. Fucking Inujima - they'd been warned about the wild people here, cousins of the Inuzuka, but they hadn't expected to be noticed.
Series: INUJIMA [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2073012





	What Skulks Among the Reeds

Wind blows over the landscape, frogs croak, and crickets chirp softly. Waves crash in the distance, providing soothing background noise. If it wasn't for the awful smell of sulfur from rotting organic material and the exhausting, disgusting slogging through mud that they'd been doing for the past hour, maybe Shinsuke and his team could actually enjoy the ambience. As it is, the wetland they'd followed from the coast in had just changed; sedge grass and reeds give way to more solid ground, allowing them to move quicker. A small mercy (even if they're all visibly exposed).

Kumo's been trying to find cracks in the Land of Fire's outer defenses since the village founding, so Shinsuke wasn't surprised when he received this particular missive. It's a simple mission: take a team to the island, gather information on what sort of people live there and their quality of life, sabotage any piddly defenses the civilians had, and get out. Sounds easy enough. There's been no trace of Konoha shinobi so far-

Movement. They're just coming up on a treeline of river birch when something starts skulking around, and from a distance, it doesn't look human. It's obvious once they get closer that they'd worried too much. A pale canine, clearly a domestic breed but living ferally, pokes its head out from behind a decomposing stump. 

For the first time since they were dropped off on the island, Hikari speaks up. "I don't like how quiet it is around here, man."

"Real fuckin' quiet with all these goddamn bugs, huh?" Rokuro, their tankiest member, is pissed. Then again, he practically always is; but the oppressive muggy air and annoying gnats don't help his mood any.

Shinsuke kind of gets it. It's too peaceful. When the dog starts baying as they approach, it grates on his already high-strung nerves.

"And now that thing won't shut up. I'm gonna kill-"

Megumi smacks his arm, giving him an ugly look when he immediately tries to stab through her hand with a kunai. "Knock it off, it's just a dog. Keep moving."

And then it's not. As soon as they step under the shade of the trees, a kunoichi, all teeth and sinew, lunges forward. 

"Ambush!" Megumi darts away, already scrabbling to gain purchase against unfamiliar opponents. Fucking Inujima - they'd been warned about the wild people here, cousins of the Inuzuka, but they hadn't expected to be noticed. "In the trees!"

Two more descend from above, bodyslamming Rokuro to the ground. Shinsuke can hear them literally ripping into him, tearing flesh with teeth and breaking bones by clawed hands. It's the first time he's ever heard the man cry like that. Going by the amount of blood, it might be the last.

Hikari is fairing little better. He'd gotten his foot tangled in the roots - kami above, how did this kid ever get promoted to chunin - and was sporting a lovely cut across his forehead for his troubles.

Shit. He needs to get over there. He's trying his best to break through the dogwoman's defense, but she's vicious. Smart, too, keeping him away from the downed man. He at least manages to fling himself far enough away for a moment's reprieve, already turning to his other teammate. "I'll go in from the left, you pry them off of-"

Megumi is dead on the ground, throat gouged out. 

He tries his best to convince himself that it isn't a losing battle as he fends off the three Inujima. Hikari's bleeding out in the forest somewhere - that crazy bitch had dragged him off into the woods kicking and screaming. They'd managed to not only drive him out of the territory, but trap him in the deepest, muddiest pit of silt, and now they're just taking potshots at him. They can afford to be careless - but Shinsuke is the last of his squad. He'll find an escape. He will not die here. 

He dies.

Kumo teams aren't sent to Inujima territory again.

**Author's Note:**

> Possibly more bits and pieces coming soon! I have a main story in the works but I'm not sure where I want it to go yet...


End file.
